Friday, May 31, 2013

I’m super excited to welcome fellow Bookouture author Nancy Barone
into the Hot Seat. THE HUSBAND DIET is out today, so I’m thrilled
she was able to join us for the launch.

Erica
Cantelli's life feels more suffocating than a size 4 dress. On the surface
she's maintaining the image of successful career woman, perfect wife and a
doting mother with two wonderful children. In reality she's running out of
hours in the day; 6 dress sizes bigger than she wants to be; and the only man
who shows her any affection is her gay best friend. In fact fantasizing about
how to kill her increasingly disinterested husband is just about all that keeps
Erica sane. That and a whole different type of fantasizing about the incredibly
handsome new school principal, Julian Foxham. When her husband jokes about
trading her in for two size tens, Erica knows something has to change. But is
another diet really the answer? Or is getting rid of him the fastest path to
happiness? Now if she could only stop thinking about the gorgeous Mr Foxham...
For any woman who has ever felt under-appreciated, or thought about giving up
on their dreams, Erica is a hilarious breath of fresh air.

And on with the grilling...

Q) You live in Sicily. In what ways has this influenced the
story?

A) Hi and thank you for inviting me over! Living in Sicily
would influence a hippo on tranquilizers! Seriously, nothing works properly in
this part of the country (not that it’s any better up North, mind you) and you
really have to shout if you want something done. But, oh, the weather, the colour of the sea and the changing hues as
the hours pass by (can you tell I live nearby?)! Not to mention
the FOOD which got me into this mess in the first place! So yes, being in
Sicily influenced me, made me impatient towards the Domani, domani (tomorrow, tomorrow) attitude just like
Erica, but Sicily really got my good side with all the beautiful people and
places. I wish I could even come here on holiday- but I’m already here! It’s no
wonder Erica’s dying to come to Italy!

Q) The Husband Diet is a superb title. How did you come up
with it?

A) Ah, wish I could take the credit- and for the cover! But
in both cases I have the fantastic Oliver Rhodes of Bookouture to thank!

Q) Erica is a plus-size heroine. In what way is that
integral to the plot?

A) If Erica had been a normal size (and that goes for me as
well) this book would have never been written. She thinks all of her problems
derive from being big, like not being able to run after her kids, tie her shoes
without grunting and get on her husband’s good side. So I’d say that Erica
drives the plot also because of that- only she comes out in flying colors!

Q) What came first – the heroine or the concept?

A) They came together. As I just said, one can’t exist
without the other. If she were someone else she’d be fighting men off with a
stick, trying to decide which shoes or outfit she’s going to wear to Fashion
Week, but no- Erica’s problems are much more nitty-gritty- like how to kill her
husband, for instance!

Q) What makes Erica so unique or special than anybody should
care enough to read about her?

A) I think everybody loves Erica because she is real- you
have to root for her because she’s like your best friend who’s leaked out her
most intimate secrets through clenched teeth when she’d rather be joking or
dancing on a table sloshing a margarita around. But no, she’s bogged down by
what she thinks she should do to please everyone else. I’ve done that (not
doing it again) and I’m sure everyone at some point has made a compromise to
please a loved one, but it’s not at all healthy if it doesn’t make you feel
good! And Erica’s story makes you feel good!

Q) There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments in the book
weighted with some deeply poignant emotional ones (I cried a lot). Keeping that
balance is remarkable. How do you do it?

A) Thank you very much- now that makes me feel good! I didn’t do it, though. Erica is a woman in her own
right and I think she even bosses me around. An example? When she planned to
surprise Julian in her birthday suit, I wanted her to chicken out and go home,
but she turned around and said to me, “And you want me to miss out on this? No way!” So she took off her
clothes and waited for Julian. I didn’t have the guts to stick around, but she
did!

Q) Ira (Erica's husband) is portrayed as the bad guy from the beginning. Is
that really fair?

A) To be honest, I gave the guy a chance- more than one. But
you know, when a man isn’t doing his best to please his woman and you don’t see
eye to eye- and he becomes a jerk-
what’s a girl to do?

Q) You have created a terrific balance of dialogue and inner
monologue to really help us connect with both the internal and external
character. Which of those do you find easier to write?

A) I’d say the interior monologue is easier for me because
I’m abrasive only in my private world. At work or with people I don’t know that
well I’m quiet and cautious. Even funny, sometimes. Like Erica- on the outside
she’s funny. But that’s not my doing- it’s the situations she experiences that
make her snarky and hilarious.

Q) The emotional level in some of the scenes is deeply
moving. Is any of it inspired by personal experience, however loosely, or are
you just empathetically gifted?

A) I’d like to say being big has never bothered me but I’d
be lying. Who hasn’t tried to squeeze into a dress, regretting last night’s
French fries? And dessert? But that’s about it. I have a cool sister, a close-knit,
loving family and a great husband and my mum is nothing like Marcy.

Q) Your writing style is simple yet superbly effective.
That’s quite a skill. Do you naturally write that way or did you have to
develop it?

A) That’s very kind of you- can we keep these compliments
coming forever? LOL. I have a pragmatic mind. Practical. There’s a story. Show
all the best bits. No one cares what colour a dress is unless you’ve managed to
fit into it and you’re going to knock your date out!

Q) Your cover is fantastic. A perfect reflection of the
book. How did you feel when you saw it?

A) I immediately thought, ‘Yes! That’s Erica.’ Although her
toes look a lot like mine. Hers are prettier, though.

Q) You’ve been published before. Have you learned anything
on this new part of your journey?

A) Absolutely! I’ve learned that I like writing both romance
and women’s fiction and I swing between the two to recharge my batteries. But I
must say that I feel super-pampered by Bookouture- there is a professional but
caring relationship between writer/ publisher/ editor. Oliver is absolutely
great, with a wide, strong vision of what readers want and Emily Ruston is a
truly top-notch editor who won’t let anything slip, not even with her busy
life. You are amazing, Emily! Please work with me again!

Q) What made you decide that Bookouture was the right home
for THD?

A) First of all, the video introducing the company. They are
truly so unique and optimistic! Plus at Bookouture they don’t have
straight-jacket rules where you can’t be yourself. They don’t want to pidgeon-hole
you as a writer. If they think your story is good they’ll take you on board.

Q) I hear that The Husband Diet has an awesome HEA. What
constitutes a HEA for you?

A) For me, a HEA is not always about ticking off every item
on your wish-list, but it’s about putting big smileys next to the ones that you
have ticked! We can’t have everything, but we can sure try and be happy, which
is half the battle!

Q) Do you have any tips for writers looking to be published?

A) You’ve heard it before
but it’s all true.

If I may: never stop
writing. Don’t waste time. If your MS is with a publisher, keep going, write as
much as you can. Make sure it’s all quality stuff or in any case stuff that you
can improve.

Listen to professional
feedback and always be courteous and professional in return.

Join writing associations
that can help you hone your craft. I’m with the RWA and I love it! Also, I have
my precious Matera Brainstormers in Italy- foreigners who’ve chosen Italy as
their home or dream-home in any case. Great people who give me plenty of
support.

Thank you for having me!

It’s been our pleasure,
Nancy. Thanks so much for coming to visit! We wish you loads of luck with the
success of your book.

And here's a little more about Nancy...

Nancy grew up in Canada, but at the age of 12 her family moved to Italy. Catapulted into a world where her only contact with the English language was her old Judy Blume books, Nancy became an avid reader and a die-hard romantic.

Nancy stayed in Italy and, despite being surrounded by handsome Italian men, she married an even more handsome Brit. They now live in Sicily where she teaches English. Like Erica, the heroine of The Husband Diet, Nancy is of Italian descent, but she swears that is where the similarities stop. And she’s absolutely never fantasized about murdering her husband.

Nancy has had a number of romance novels published, but The Husband Diet is her first Women’s Fiction book. She is a member of the RWA and a keen supporter of the Women’s Fiction Festival at Matera where she meets up once a year with writing friends from all over the globe.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

I am a pantser, all the way. I'll own it. It makes writing a little tricky, to say the least, but I know I'm not alone in this. I have tried, over the years, to make it a little easier on myself by doing some pre-plotting--kind of a *very* loose layout of scenes. I wouldn't even call it an outline, exactly. Just kind of a collection of signposts to make sure I'm on the right path. These are all subject to change in terms of order, though interestingly enough, the scenes I lay out and write ahead of time usually need virtually no editing down the line. I've learned to trust them when they come.

But.

There is a very fine line between a loose collection of scenes and an actual outline. And outlines are where I get into trouble. I LOVE outlines. They are so pretty and neat and organized. Everything is right there, at your fingertips, all you have to do is flesh it out! (Can you see how much I don't use them? I don't think it's that easy, even for plotters.)

So, I tried, a few years back to plot out a book. No, I didn't try. I *did* plot it from beginning to end. It was fairly loose, but it was all there. All the turning points, the full character arcs, all of it, tied up in a neat little bow at the end.

I was SO EXCITED thinking I'd finally put my pantser days behind me and could be a real plotter. So I opened up a new document and checked my outline, typed CHAPTER ONE--

And stopped.

For days.

I could not for the life of me figure out where I'd gone wrong. I had the whole book, right there, in my outline! Beginning to end (okay, mostly--the middle was a little sketchy but still), the whole shebang. I did manage to cough up a Chapter One, eventually. But it was lackluster and flat and I was no longer in love with the book.

I finally figured out what had happened. For all intents and purposes, I'd written the whole book--in the outline. I knew what was going to happen and I'd taken the magic out of it. So as far as my brain was concerned, we were done with this one. Next.

As it turns out, I need the mists. I need to only have a vague idea of where I'm going, bracketed by those few scenes I mentioned above. I need to trust that I'll figure out where I'm going, that if I keep those scenes in the back of my mind, I'll get there eventually. I *need* that strange alchemy of chaos and magic to make my process work.

I'll never be a plotter. I take great care not to overplot. I do still write those anchor scenes as they come to me. But otherwise I just ask myself "What comes next?" and hang on for the ride.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

I love talking about romantic heroes. Whether you love billionaires, sheiks, dukes, single dads, or military men, romance offers a selection of heroes hot enough to make any reader swoon. But what about the smart, fesity women who bring those men to one knee? Today I want to talk about them, and I want to know: what do you look for in a romantic heroine?

Some readers seem to enjoy placing themselves in the role of the heroine and experiencing a story through her eyes. For those readers, it may be important for the heroine to have a relatable lifestyle, family, or outlook on life.

While I of course want to sympathize with the heroine on some level, I'm not in the vicarious living school of readers. I don't care if the heroine is someone whose life I want to experience. I want my heroines to be kick ass and edgy -- Eve Dallas in J.D. Robb's In Death series is a good example. I've also been enjoying Tess Gerritsen's Rizzoli and Isles series. Rizzoli and Isles may not be romantic heroines in the traditional sense, but they are bad ass women with brains and flaws. Sometimes the flaws are annoying, but that's cool. I can handle imperfect. I was also crazy about Cecilia Grant's heroine in A Lady Awakened, prickly as she could be, and Sarah Mayberry's heroine in Her Best Worst Mistake.

I confess to struggling a bit with Mary Sue heroines, though I'm not sure if it's because I find them dull or because I lied earlier about living vicariously through heroines. I can't relate to characters who are perky and kind and inexplicably have no idea how beautiful they are. Something about that is grating. But hey, I also struggle with a lot of alpha male heroes, so maybe I'm strange.

So let's hear it: Do you like to live through your heroines? What do you love in a romance heroine, and who have been some of your favorites?

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

I am so thrilled to be chatting again with my friend Romy Sommer, who just released her first book WAKING UP IN VEGAS through Harper Impulse. Romy's been quite busy over the past year, and we're delighted to have her back today to discuss her latest book.

What happens in Vegas…

Waking up to
the bright lights of Vegas in an unfamiliar penthouse suite, cocktail
waitress Phoenix Montgomery finds she’s covered from head to foot in
gold glitter and not alone – aside from the empty bottle of champagne,
there’s a mystery man in the shower and a huge sparkly ring on her
finger!

Stays in Vegas?

There’s no denying Max Waldburg’s
demi-god sex appeal but commitment-phobic Phoenix doesn’t do
relationships. Only it seems her new husband (agh!) has other ideas…he’s
trying to keep that ring on her finger and his wife firmly back in his
bed. The only question on her lips is – why? Or maybe, why not?

Congratulations on your deal with Harper Impulse! Can
you tell us a little about Waking Up in Vegas?

What happens when a restless cocktail waitress with no strings wakes up married
to a man who believes in fairy tales and happy endings - and who doesn't
believe in divorce? Worst of all, he comes with more strings than a marionette.
The result is Waking up in Vegas.

The
journey toward publication is usually filled with ups and downs. Can you
describe the path that led you to this moment?

Phoenix and Max have been with me for a very long time, and just wouldn't
leave. When I finally wrote their story, thanks along the way to a little
inspiration from Katy Perry, the story practically wrote itself. I loved
writing this book and really believed it was going places, so when I received
rejections from the only two publishers I deemed 'worthy' of this story, I
didn't let it get me down. I knew Phoenix and Max had a future in more ways
than one, so I prepared to self-publish.

Then I spotted a tweet that changed everything: the announcement of a new
imprint from Harper Collins.

Harper Impulse is a digital first romance imprint led by Kimberley Young, who
I'd met at the RNA conference last year. And this was Harper Collins!! I
decided to delay self publishing to give them a chance to reject me first - and
instead I got The Call.

Oops, already answered that. Getting the call was scary, nerve-wracking,
thrilling and wonderful. And none of those words truly encompasses the amazing
feeling when you receive The Call.

What
inspired you to write this book?

It all started with a dream I had one night in 2009. I wouldn't be surprised if
I had it after watching the Julia Stiles movie The Prince and Me. I dreamed
of a coronation scene followed by the newly crowned prince making a speech on
the steps of a cathedral and calling the love of his life out of the watching
crowd.

I wrote the book during Nanowrimo of that year, but it was a very rough
draft that never went anywhere. I set it aside and gave it no more thought.
Until 2012, when I was listening to the Katy Perry song Waking up in Vegas
and thought "Wow, that would suit those characters". I rewrote their
story from scratch during Nanowrimo that year (incidentally, those are the only
two years I've succeeded at Nano!)

You'll have to read the book to see if the scene I dreamed made it into the
final draft!

Do
you have a favorite scene or character in this book?

I love the scene in which Max and Phoenix ride motor bikes through the
Westerwald countryside. There's nothing like the rush of a bike ride!

I loved all the characters in this book, but there are a few supporting
characters who have a special place in my heart. Khara gets her name from the
Savvy Authors group I did last year's Nanowrimo challenge with (thanks for
keeping me going, Team Khara!) and Rebekah and Claus owe their existence to The
Vampire Diaries. Since my dear friend Maya Blake included references to our
favourite show in her novel The Price of Success,
I thought I'd do the same!

Waking
up in Vegas is the first in a planned three-book series. Any hints about what's
in store for the next two books?

Rik's story is up next and I'm not giving away any secrets except to say that
he's very different from his brother Max. He's dark and brooding and angry.
Book three ... well, if you've read Waking up in Vegas, you might
remember the third ring, the missing ring ... that's book three.

You
have a full-time job and two children. How do you work your writing into your
daily routine?

I don't sleep. No seriously. I've learned to cope on six hours a night,
occasionally less, and though I'm grumpy a lot of the time because of it, I
figure that won't be the case forever. Roll on the day I can quit the day job
and catch up on all the missed sleep!

I've definitely found that I have to keep the momentum going and write every
day (even if just for half an hour). If my head is in the story all day, every
day, then writing is much easier and the words flow quicker.

You
also write historical romance under the name Rae Summers. How do you balance your
time or shift gears between the two?

Rae Summers will be taking a little break for the next few months, though she
still has stories to tell. I'm a Gemini, so multiple personalities come easy to
me. Rae has a lyrical voice and her stories and far more sensual, whereas Romy
has a sense of humour, and a fun, flirty, far more contemporary tone.

Can you tell us what you're working on at the moment and
what readers can expect next?

I'm working on Rik's story, so watch this space...

Thank you so much for
hosting me!

Thank you so much for stopping by, Romy! To learn more about Romy Sommer and her new release, please visit her at www.romysommer.com

Monday, May 13, 2013

As I was going
through my bookcase, I realized something. Most of the romance books I've read
involved heroines who were (or expecting to be) MOTHERS.

So I put my author's
hat on and got to thinking.

Mothers really do make the best heroines
and here's why:

1) they're self-sacrificing—most of the "mom"
heroines in romances have given up their dreams, sometimes their families, and
even their schooling to have a baby out of wedlock to raise on their own.

2) they're sympathetic—every reader can
relate to what the "mom" heroine is going through because even if
you're not a mother...you have or have had one.

3) they're loving—the "mom" heroine
shows that she's capable of giving a lot of love to her future hero through the
way she interacts with her child/children. Instant likeability.

4) they're savvy and hardworking—somehow
with all the sacrifices this "mom" heroine has made to be a single
mother, her children are not starving nor are they collecting food stamps.
Obviously, this heroine knows how to balance a checkbook and make a dollar
stretch.

5) they're independent—they all can cook
and take care of themselves. Maybe the "mom" heroine is not the best
cook in the world (although sometimes she is), but this character knows more
than how to boil water. And her children—and future hero--appreciate whatever
she puts on the table as well as the fact that she does not need to rely on
anyone.

Now what hero wouldn't want to be with
a woman like that?

See? They're ideal
heroines.

Funny, but I've
personally only written one heroine who was already a mother before she met my
hero. It was my first book published: The Role of a Lifetime. But every
other book I've written involved heroines who became mothers or hinted to the
fact that they would make great future mothers. And isn't that the ultimate
happily ever after in so many romance novels?

Some of my personal favorite romances involving
a heroine who is a mother are:

Nobody's Baby but Mine—Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Expecting Royal Twins! by Melissa McClone

Crazy Little Thing by Tracy Brogan

Three River Ranch by Roxanne Snopek

Somebody to Love by Kristan Higgins

Maid for Love by Marie Force

Big thanks to my own
mom on this post-Mother's Day day. She is a woman who encompasses all those
traits I mentioned and more and has inspired a lot of my best heroines. :)

It's obviously very romantic to
be a mother! :)

Do you think mothers make great
heroines too? Do you have a favorite book that involves a mom as the heroine?

Jennifer Shirk is a sweet romance author for Samhain, Montlake and Entangled Publishing who also happens to be a mom, pharmacist, Red Sox fan, P90x grad, and overall nice person. Check out her latest release: A LITTLE BIT CUPID at an e-tailer near your computer. :)

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Ahh. The life of a newly published author. The glitz. The glam. The huge advance checks. The magic wand that produces the next book....

Wait. What? Oh, sorry. I was dreaming!

In all seriousness, though, what I’ve learned over the past year is being pubbed is a whole new world of the exact same thing. It’s still hurry up and wait--hurry to submit the next book(s), then wait until the editor can get to them. Even though you have an ‘in’ so to speak, editors are crazy busy people (I can’t even imagine everything they do on a daily basis) and while there’s a time period built into the contract it often comes down to that wire. In the meantime, what do you do?

Write the next book. But not too much of it, because you don’t want to get too far and have to rewrite it anyway. This has been the hardest for me. Usually, I start a book and let it rip. It was hard to judge about where the third chapter would end (allowing for editing) since the way I draft means chapter one has thousands of words. Sometimes the whole draft is listed under chapter one. Then I start another one, and do the same thing--polishing the first chapters to a shine, just like always.

The fun part, though, is learning all that happens to the book as it moves through the publishing process. It helps alleviate some of the stress of waiting. The first time I got AAs (Author Alterations) from Harlequin I had NO IDEA what they were or what I was supposed to do with them. Thankfully, other authors were very kind and generous and didn’t laugh (too hard) at my panic. I filled out my first Art Fact Sheet (which Olivia blogged about earlier). Saw my first cover. Held the book for the first time.

Glitz? Glam? Big money? Not for me, no. I put in a lot of hard work and sweat and tears. We all do, as writers, no matter how we publish. But it was worth all of it to hold that book for the first time.

Ami Weaver's debut book is an April 2013 Harlequin Romance release. Visit her on Twitter @writerlygirl or at her website www.amiweaver.com

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

When starting a new book, I’ve learned from experience that
I need an outline to follow. Not an outline like you learned to do in school
with the roman numerals and letters. No, what I’m talking about is more like a
long synopsis. But sometimes I’ll included chunks of scenes. If they come to me
in that moment, I’m not going to pass up a chance to record it. The only thing
that my outline must have is chronological order. Anything about and beyond
that is fine by me. It’s there to keep the juices flowing and remind me of
where the story is headed. NOTE: my stories/characters don’t always play along
with the outline. Detours are not uncommon, but they don’t detour too far from
the program and eventually they meander back to the outline.

Next comes the first draft. I must confess that I thought I
wrote messy, dirty drafts, but I’m coming to learn that they aren’t so messy
after all. My scenes, for the most part, are in the right order. Once in a
while, I jump the gun and have something happen too soon. That’s when my
wonderful editor taps me on the shoulder and suggests I move such and such
later in the story. And generally she’s right and it strengthens the story.

BUT, and yes, that’s a big but, the first draft of my first chapters
is usually very messy. I don’t know how else to dive into the middle of
characters’ lives without just throwing down words and seeing what happens. In
the opening chapter, I move scenes around. I move dialogue around. I change
settings, weather, days of the week, POV’s. You name it, I probably change it.
By chapter two, I’m usually cooking with gas and know where I’m going. Things
are really picking up by now. ;-)

As such, I am in awe of those writers who can sit down and
write clean first drafts the whole way through. Now, I’m not referring to those
people who write a page or two and then tinker with it until it shines before
moving on, but rather I’m referring to the people who sit down and write really
clean drafts from the get-go. Those are the writers who only need to do light
editing before submitting. I actually know some of those people and they amaze
me.

How about you? Are you a messy writer? Or a clean one?

Jennifer Faye is hard at work on book #3. Her debut, RANCHER TO THE RESCUE, is available for Pre-order now. She’d love to hear from you viaTwitter,herwebsite,orFacebook.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Hello all, Rachel surfacing here briefly, slightly dizzy and
bemused as I’m in between books, writing them that is! Surrounded by
post-deadline piles of paper, dust and pen lids I've been having a little think
about all the things that I should be doing with my time right now, but not actually getting
very far.

I've recently sent off my latest Entangled manuscript, A
Sicilian Engagement, and I’m waiting to hear what my editor thinks of it (bites
lip in clichéd romance heroine-type way). Even though this book is
already contracted, the wait is still as nerve-wracking as submitting a
manuscript to a publisher cold, except worse in a way because I can’t just
shrug my shoulders and walk away. If it’s not up to scratch I will have to fix it, not just shove it in a
cyber-drawer and drink comfort wine until the nasty rejection becomes a memory.
That’s being a ‘contracted author’ for you, big girls’ stuff, no messing about!

I do thank my lucky stars each day that I have those
contracts and an editor keen to receive more proposals from me. I have plenty
of work which is fantastic in the current economic climate and not something
that I would ever take for granted, but I’m also a firm believer in the
restorative power of rest. Rest for the body and rest for the mind.

This past year has taught me that being self-employed and
working from home makes it very difficult to switch off. You can’t just clock
out and finish for the day like I used to be able to in an accounts office and
part of me doesn't want to because I love my new job so much. But the well does
need refilling from time to time and creativity dries up when you’re staring at
a computer screen or notebook most of your waking hours and do nothing else …

So, as we start a long bank holiday weekend here in the UK,
I’m giving myself permission to log off and live for a few days before getting
back to work next Tuesday. On the agenda is Iron Man 3 (yes, okay,it’s a
screen, but it’s a big one and Mr Downey is very restorative) and dinner for
two in a harbor restaurant while Nanny takes charge of the kids. The sun has finally come out of hiding so I
may even venture out into the garden – possibly with a book. And I still have this beautiful indulgence to
slather with beeswax and polish:

Did I mention all the laundry and cleaning that’s built up
while I've been writing like a maniac on a deadline? No, I didn't, did I? Good!

Do you set aside a time to unwind? What do you do to relax
and indulge?

There’s a bottle of champagne languishing in the boiler cupboard
now I come to think about it … so if any of you have some summery cocktail
recipes I’d love to have them. And perhaps some nibbles to go with them. Why not? It’s the weekend!

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We're a bunch of sassy ladies who came together because we love romance. We write stories with varying heat levels and we embrace our different perspectives. We don't edit each other, and one member's opinion doesn't represent the opinion of the group....duh.